My name's dod, I'm a Noinker - or first impressions of the D300

Arkady said:
I think if you find something's right for you - whether it be Canon or Nikon, that stays with you, regardless...
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That's quite possible.

The thing I'm liking most right now is the image quality. I was speaking to a guy from an Irish firm that covers the major equestrian events and we got onto the subject of lenses. He said something which now makes a lot of sense.

"the canon lenses are sharp but the Nikkors are crisp"

I'm starting to see exactly what he meant. This isn't an easy choice.

 
I'm probably in the group of long term canon users.

And TBH if Nikon did a 300 F4 with VR right now I expect I would find myself quite a bit poorer as the D300 as a camera body has all the stuff I would like.
 
Mines set on 51 at the minute but i'll probably switch it, can't see why you'd actually need them. Toyed with 3D tracking but it's probably not needed that much. Finally found out how to make the shutter fire even when the cam thinks focus isn't locked, was VERY frustrating before.
 
adam* said:
So you can set it in one of the custom functions (if you have a problem) so your base exposure (in the middle) is about what you deem right?
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Yes, look at menu item b6 "fine tune optimal exposure".

This does exactly what I describe. Obviously you can still make on the fly adustments with the dials when shooting, but unless I am dealing with particularly dull or bright conditions, my baseline -0.7 is much better.

The other thing to watch out for is if you shoot jpgs (and by and large I do as it cuts down processing time for news reporting photography), the variety of picture controls can produce quite dramatically different results. The various in camera adjustments you can make to each for saturation, contrast and sharpness are adjustments to the pre-defined sets on the camera. Adding more saturation to the "standard" will not create "vivid", they are different to start with.

Definitely setup a test shoot of all of them with a pile of colourful subjects (I used things from my kitchen cupboards) and review the results to see what the differences are.

I went one step further and then had Gribbsy build me a custom picture control as you will find that you can't balance detail with colour very easily in any of the predefined ones.

Lastly Dod, re the comment on the Nikon producing more detailed images - it does but in a very weird way. Small(ish) sized images (say 6x4's or web sized images) do appear to have more detail than ones from say a MkIII. However if you view at 100%, you will find the Canon has the detail there too. I have no idea why this would be the case, but try it and see what I mean...

All of this took some getting used to, but what I've ended up with is a reliable tool that can get me the shots I need for journalism quickly and without much hassle.
 
RichardtheSane said:
I'm probably in the group of long term canon users.

And TBH if Nikon did a 300 F4 with VR right now I expect I would find myself quite a bit poorer as the D300 as a camera body has all the stuff I would like.
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Nikon 300mm F4 handheld
iso 200
1/1000
F6.3
LIB.jpg


100% crop
LIBB.jpg
 
Joe T said:
Have you bought a 50 1.8 for Nikon yet? :lol:
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:lol: Nah, just back from a week in sunny Spain, only took the 300 and the only lens I have for it, the 24-120. Anybody wondering how easy it is to get used to Nikon from Canon should be fairly relaxed. Yes, it's a lot confusing to start with but after a week I'm pretty comfortable with the controls, where everything is etc. Pretty happy with the lens as well, for something which seems to get pretty mixed reviews it seems good to me. :)

fish1.jpg


100% crop and you can see me lying on the sife of the pool. bottom left
fish2.jpg


random night shot, auto WB coped pretty well with a combination of moonlight, fluorescent and tungsten
night.jpg


not a bad view :)
view.jpg
 
well, an update, the D300 convinced me to make the change. Nearly all my Canon stuff has gone and I'm sitting here with a D3, D300 and pretty near the same lens selection as I had before. There's a huge difference between the D3 and the D300 though so there's a good chance I'll go for another D3 shortly.

Financially I'm still in the black, mainly as I haven't replaced the 400mm range that I had before, the Nikon equivalent is a bit too rich at the moment although I might just pick up a Sigma 120-300 and combine it with a 1.4X to get nearly the same result.

I'm not entirely sure I've done the right thing, suppose that's understandable having used Canon for 20+ years, but there's light on the dark side :p.
 
Im thinking about swapping to Nikon as well...would go for D3 and lenses similar to the ones I have...but Nikon doesent have 135 f2.0...so would go for 85 f1.4 and maybe something wider..but havent seen any nice wide prime lenses in Nikon range...35mm and 85mm would do for the moment :)
but dont have the money to do the swap at the moment as well :gag:
 
desantnik said:
Dod - why not try a D700 instead... its 90% of a D3... and still has the pop up flash and it has sensor cleaning... (sick of the dust yet?)
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That's a decision I still haven't made, but it's still an option. I'm also looking at a D2X, I've got an offer of a D3 but I might just keep the D300. I've taken it out to the horses once and was impressed with the results.

Only thing about it, and the 700, is that I really don't like the handling of the body without a grip, although it was nice not to have the bulk when I was on holiday. Keeping that in mind it's probably more likely to be another 2/3 body.

Haven't had a problem with dust yet but I was used to that with the MkII anyway :)
 
Personally, I'd avoid the D2X. Don't imagine that the Nikon groovyness has always been there.... the current crop are a big leap forward not only over Canon, but also Nikon's dingy past too.

I think you'll be dissapointed...

Me, I'm hankering after a D3/D700 but trying to resist long enough to get either the D700S or better still if I can hang on the year or so for a D4 8)
 
desantnik said:
Personally, I'd avoid the D2X. Don't imagine that the Nikon groovyness has always been there.... the current crop are a big leap forward not only over Canon, but also Nikon's dingy past too.

I think you'll be dissapointed...
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That's a fair point considering I seem to be doing more inside work nowadays. The D300 is better for highish ISO than the D2X and the 1D MkII from what I've seen up to now. Doesn't make deciding any easier but I'm in no hurry now, I can wait and make sure I get it right :)

Once I get this kit finalised I'm not intending buying anything else for quite some time :p

edit: does the 700 use the same battery as the D3?
 
The D700 uses the same batteries as the D300... so either EN-EL3E's or when you have the grip (and ultra expensive battery hatch cover grrrrr), the same EN-EL4A's as the D3 (which ups the FPS as well as giving epic battery life)

Anyway, welcome to the Revolution comrade :D
 
of course, the D700/D300 also share the same grip, which might be an option too, give you the 'bulk' you need, but also lack of it [D700], and additional reach[D300] for those holidays. I might be wrong, but some quick maths says you can take the value of your D300, add a D700 and a grip, and have all three for roughly what a D3 would cost, but with the aded flexibility those 3 will give dependong on what you are shooting and where. Just a thought ;)
 
bloody hell Yv, that's really helped :p
 
Unfortunately the "want" factor is gonna scupper that combo.


I'm afraid you're gonna need all three....:lol:
 
Dod, i hope you know that when you changed to the dark side, a kitten somewhere in the world didnt get the christmas present he wanted. He only got a toy mouse, not a top of the range cat-nip filled mouse.

I hope you are happy with yourself and the guilt doesnt eat you up too much! :P
 
yep, developing a taste for kittens [S2]with a nice chianti[/S2]
 
:'(
 
I swapped from Canon to Nikon just over a year ago. The D700 was my first Nikon and two of them got me through my first full year as a wedding tog. I love them and would not consider using Canon again.

The main things for me with the Nikon SLRs is AF, high ISO and imo the lenses produce better images (sharper/crisper whatever)

I wasn't mad on the WB of the Nikon to start with but this is one of those things you learn to manage as you go along. And I found the Nikon CLS system a bit unpreditctable at first; but by making the effort I'm a better flash photographer than I ever was. For me, the change of system made me a better photographer.

Dunno why I just typed all that but hey ho.
 
Thats two more dead kittens Ryan :)

We are certainly amassing a body count in this thread :D
 
God doesnt kill kittens, he just doesnt give them cat-nip, lets keep it a bit more cheerful eh? :D

Oh, and i hope you all rot in hell :lol:
 
Oh dear. Just getting rid of the Canon for the D1x - and two days ago stumped up for an F90x with MB-10 to replace the Yashicas. Another two for the body count there I feel :D

Arthur
uzi.gif
 
"As his mouse hovered above the "Buy it Now" button on the Nikon website, little did he know that in another part of the world a tiny life was held in the balance..."

kitten-and-gun.jpg


:D:D:D
 
desantnik said:
"As his mouse hovered above the "Buy it Now" button on the Nikon website, little did he know that in another part of the world a tiny life was held in the balance..."

kitten-and-gun.jpg


:D:D:D
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:lol: :lol: :lol:
 
not a good day for kittens ;)
 
dod said:
That's how I'm finding this just now, I'm so used to the Canon that I'm having to think about every change rather than just letting it happen :) Onwards and upwards Rodney :p

I hate to say it though but I'm impressed, this things ****ing all over my MkIII for out of camera sharpness :( Yeah, yeah, I know it's a cat, have to use something for testing though :p

Full frame, no sharpening, touch of levels adjustment


In the garden


100% crop, near enough centre obviously. Noisier than I'd have expected though.
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Correct me if im wrong but only D3 and D700 are full frame ?
 
ALiB asked for a quick update so.....

Since all this started I've now accumulated a pretty decent kit. Two pro spec bodies and a D300 and a decent selection of fast glass. I've one more lens I want to get to almost replicate the canon set up but I'm going to let that go to see if I can live without 400mm at the moment. I've picked up a 1.4X for the short term but haven't tested that so can't say how it will affect performance.

A lot of the comments about handling etc still stand. It takes time to learn a new system and how to get the best out of it. Having said that I've now got two identical main bodies which means it's a doddle when out on a shoot. I can pick up either and know it's set up how I want it, barring things like ISO etc. I wouldn't say one system is better than the other, both have good and bad points but it's really surprising how quickly it becomes almost second nature.

Performance wise I really like the glass. The 70-200 F2.8 particularly is a very sharp lens. The 24-70 looks as good as my Canon one, very nice. I haven't seen any vignetting on FX either with the 70-200 so not an issue. The bodies are slightly smaller than the 1D but are very solid, reassuringly so. High ISO performance is better than the MkIII, not substantially so but in a way that seems easier to manage in the little processing I do. It's also more film like rather than the "blotchy" noise the canon produced. (I never was one for the technical side of photography :p )

I'd never really considered going full frame but I really like the options the D3 gives. FX, DX or even 5X4. I see that last option being handy next year if I can get the on site printing sorted out the way I want it for 10X8's. Just another way to minimise the workflow. :)

So, the main question is, did I do the right thing? Overall I think the answer is probably yes. I've still got to really try the system out in real life scenarios but the testing I've done up to now with our own horses suggests it's more than up to the job. The overall accuracy and performance of the system seems to be very high.

This won't be the right decision for everyone though. I didn't have a selection of long primes which would have cost a lot to change, if I had I doubt that I could have afforded it. As it is, I've been able to swop from one good kit to another with minimal investment. It's doable if you're careful :)
 
I have brought the kittens back from the dead - I'm a Nikon user and a Canon 30D will arrive tomorrow. Go Kittens, ignore those nasty Nikon people! :lol: :D



ps Nikon users intending to silence me tonight:. I still like(MUCHOS) Nikon, just a shame to see those poor puddy tats die :lol: :D
 
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